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What to watch for Thursday against the Falcons

With the preseason ready to go from Week 1 to Week 2, the focus starts to shift from examining single-game performances to expecting a level of consistency. Can the players who stood out in the preseason opener against the Saints replicate that performance on Thursday against the Falcons? And could those players who stumbled a bit against New Orleans bounce back?

In addition, while the players who are locks for roster spots will approach Thursday’s game against Atlanta simply as a chance to get in work before the start of the regular season, there are some players who desperately need to stand out in game action, as the first cutdown date (Aug. 31) is drawing closer.

With those points in mind, here are 10 things worth keeping an eye on Thursday evening:

Tom Brady: Brady went 17 snaps last week against the Saints, finishing 5-for-8 for 67 yards. He was officially yanked roughly halfway through the second quarter. This week against the Falcons, he is probably looking at another 5-10 snaps and roughly two quarters of action. Of particular interest will be how the chemistry between Brady and the rest of the young receivers continues to evolve.

Brandon Tate: With two other threats for the outside wide receiver position now out of the picture in Torry Holt and David Patten, the North Carolina product now figures to have a prominent role in the New Englandpassing game. He didn’t start last week against the Saints, but did get plenty of reps with the No. 1 offense, and came away with one catch, a 20-yarder in the first quarter that came in a third-and-long situation and kept the chains moving.

Dan Connolly: Connolly, who now is shaping up as the No. 1 option at left guard, had a solid outing against the New Orleans starters, holding up his part of the offensive line throughout the first half. There were some misses, but he also made some nice blocks, including one on the touchdown from BenJarvus Green-Ellis that ended up springing the running back for a touchdown. Time to see if that performance was an aberration or the start of a trend.

Ron Brace and Derrick Burgess: The two defensive players returned to the field this week — Brace was finally able to pass his conditioning test and Burgess reported to camp after taking care of the family issues that had apparently sprung up in the days before training camp began. Wouldn’t be shocked to see them each get a few snaps for a couple of reasons. First, from a practical perspective, because the Patriots are thin at both spots heading into the game (especially at outside linebacker, where Tully Banta-Cain and Jermaine Cunningham did not make the trip to Georgia). Second, they both need as many reps as possible as fast as possible because they still lag behind their teammates.

Running back:The Patriots rolled out BenJarvus Green-Ellis to start the opener, but it’s premature to suggest the Ole Miss product who’s spent the last couple of years bringing up the rear of the running back depth chart has all of a sudden vaulted to the head of the class. Do the Patriots split touches more evenly this time around? And if so, who gets his chance? (For more on running backs who might be on the bubble, click here.)

Inside linebacker: Last week against the Saints, Jerod Mayo and Brandon Spikes started, and Spikes ended up playing most of the game. However, when Mayo was lifted early in the game, the Patriots went with Dane Fletcher instead of Tyrone McKenzie as the next man off the bench. (McKenzie did end up playing in the second half.) The move to Fletcher instead of McKenzie was a surprise — not sure how much of that was a statement on how the franchise feels about McKenzie or how much of it may have been something else — situational football, a desire to see Spikes make more of the calls, etc. But if Spikes sees as much time as he did in Week 1 of the preseason, a trend could really be developing.

Devin McCourty: In his preseason debut, the rookie had an excellent night. McCourty had three kick returns and averaged 37 yards a return, including a 52-yarder. He got the start at cornerback, and certainly didn’t look overwhelmed by the New Orleans passing game. (In fact, given the fact that Leigh Bodden was out and Darius Butler had a bit of a subpar evening, you could make an argument that he was the best corner the Patriots had on the field all night.) Bodden didn’t make the trip to Atlanta, so McCourty should get another opportunity to get plenty of reps at left corner Thursday against the Falcons.

Health: The Patriots only had to look across the line of scrimmage last week to get a reminder as to how fragile things are in the preseason. They got through their game against the Saints in relatively good shape, healthwise. (Ross Ventrone was injured on the aforementioned kick return from Beavers, and waived a few days later.) Meanwhile, New Orleans punter Thomas Morstead suffered an arm injury and running back Lynell Hamilton tore his right anterior cruciate ligament the day before the game in a join practice with the Patriots.

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